One of my favorite things about my drone is that it gives me new and unique perspectives on places I’ve visited many times; apparently, I’m in talented company, since photographer Denis Esakov enjoys the same. Denis captured aerial views of 70 different European metropolitan cities, his “fifth facades.”

In a scene from Dead Poets Society, Robin Williams’ character, the English teacher John Keating, famously climbs on top his desk to remind himself, and his students, that “we must look at things in a different way. The world looks very different from up here.” Thanks to satellite and drone technology, we can now take Williams’ advice quite literally by looking at the world from up above.

Using a remote-controlled drone, the photographer Denis Esakov has done just that by capturing the amazing “fifth facades” of Moscow’s architecture. Photographing over seventy buildings throughout Europe’s largest metropolis, Esakov flies over the city to reveal previously unseen geometries of the city’s greatest architectural icons. The new vantage point exposes intriguing compositions that spark a re-evaluation of the works themselves and a query into the hidden symbolism behind the plans that up until now, have remained the secret of the architects and their clients.

Flyover Moscow with aerial photography of the city’s architectural icons